Vaporizing means



Aug. 27, 1946. Y T L, TRlpLETT 2,406,517 VAPORIZING MEANS Filed May 1, 1945 #A 11m/5, MECH, Fos Tem; A/AF'fR/q Patented Aug. 27, 1946 ,'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vAPoRIzING MEANS Thomas L. Tpletanncinq, Calif. Application May 1-, 1943i, serial No. 4855399 1 My invention relates to devices for vaporizing and mixing fuel in preparationtfor combustion. Whiler the invention may be applied' to the treatment' of various types of liquid' fuel for various specific purposes, it is being initially embodied in a device for use between `the carburetor and the intake manifold of 'a automobile. Forthe purpose of the present disclosure, I elect to describe this initial embodiment in the knowledge vthatsuch a description will be adequate guidance for applyingr the invention wherever it may yhave utility.

My invention* is characterized bythe'concept of forcing fuel-laden air through a perforate means such as a screen, thereby to achieve such turbulence, flow-velocity, channel restriction, and mechanical action as to break up, vaporize, and mix the fuel for maximum combustion eiciency. I have discovered that the desired processing of a fuel-laden air` stream may be accomplished by using relatively fine screen,preferab1yr as fine as 130 mesh. I have further discoveredA that it is' desirable toemploy a plurality of such screens spaced apart for successive action on thev fuel'- laden air stream. Unfortunately, however, even a single screen of relatively'finemesh `offers serious resistance to air flow `and maysohind'er air and fuel supply to the internal combustionvv engine as to more than offset any advantage gained by improving the fuel mixture. If an air screw is employed to rotate the screen, the situation is made worse by additionallyrobbing the airstream of kinetic. energy;

I am aware that the use of screen means for this purpose has been suggested heretofore. For example, stationary screen means are foundV in some prior disclosures, while other disclosures teach the use of air screws to derive' kineticl energy fromV the fuel-laden airy stream for continuous rotation of the screen means.

Within my knowledge, none of these prior art arrangements involving either stationary or rotary screens has solved therproblem of employing suiiiciently fine mesh screen for efficient fuel treatment without reducing the rate of airv flow to` a intolerable degree. Thel various prior art arrangements, furthermore, vary widely inv efflcien'cy under varying engine loads and varying engine speeds'.

It is` an object of' my invention to provide for employing ne mesh screensv in any desired number in an intake passageA of' a combustion engine without the usual penalties heretoforel encountered, and to do s withoutwide fluctuations. in eiiciencyfunder varying operating conditions. A further object of my invention. isA tot provide an Claims.

(Cl-r 48-180),

' seriously choking the fuel and air supply may bel solved by supplying energy to the air stream fromf an outside.- source, and I have furtherjdis'- covered that an arrangement. for adding kinetic energy to the fuel-laden air stream may be designed to maintain engine efficiency regardless of changing loadand changingenginel speed. I prefer to, accomplish this by rotatingI an. air screw', adapted to. force the fuel-laden air through. the screens, by an independent power source, such as anr electric motor. I have found it very desirable, if notfessential, tohave the independent power source rotate the. air screw at: a substantially constant and relatively high rate of speed,

` regardless of thev normali velocity of fuel-laden air passing from the carburetor to the engine. f

By suchy provision, Ilam able to obtainl complete and satisfactory mixing at all engine speeds,

which: has not been possible hitherto. This insures: ready starting of the engine, even when cold, and greatly increases overall eficiency of the fuel system at all`r speeds ofV operationof the engine.

Other objects. and advantages'of my invention g willi be apparent from the following description; taken with the accompanying drawing:

In the: drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative,

Fig. 1 is aview partly in section and partly in side elevation: of a. preferredy form of myY invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section: taken as indicated by theline 2:--2 of Fig. 1;.

Fig'. 3 is a transverse section taken as indicated by the line 3--3`l0f F151.;

Fig. 4 is av fragmentary section taken on. adiameter throughf` one of the impellers in Fig` 1; and

Fig; 5 is asimilar fragmentary sectional view indicating a construction of a modified form of the invention.

The preferred form of my invention shown in Figs'. 1l to 4 includes-1 a: cylindrical passage means generally designated t!) having allateralv elbow Iv I, the passage' means and elbow constituting that part: of: thedown-drait 'intake passage of anxintermal. combustion. engine between acarburetor t2' off-thesengine and an intake manifold- I3. For

bolts 26. The fitting I vprovides an annular seat 2| to receive the lower cylindrical end of the passage means .Ill and is joined to the passage meansby suitable screws 22 vextending through a gasket 23. As' indicated in Figs. 1 and 3,` the fitting I5 provides a transverse web 25 having a su'icient number of relatively large apertures 26 to permit ready air flow from the cylindrical f passage means I6 into the manifold I3.-

The cylindrical upper end of the passage.'

means I0 may be closed by a p1ate2'I anda'suita',

able gasket 28, the plate and; gasket being;` held A in place by suitable screws 30.

Mounted on the upper side of the vplate -21'is a Y motor 3l which may be held in place by suitable means suchv as a band 32having its spaced ends anchored by .two of the screwsY 36 as indicated in Figli'. AThe motor 3I may be energized through v a cable 33 bythe battery employed inthe ignition systemV for the engine and may be controlled by an ignitionswitch 35: so .that when the ignition switch is turned on, the motor 3| isvenergized.

In the preferred form of my invention, Imount a -shaft'36 inside the .cylindrical passage means Iaxially'thereof for power rotation by the motor 3|".r Y:Fign'l showsa vreduced lower end'31 of the shaft 36 journaled in a suitable anti-friction bearing 38 that is mounted in the transverse web 255an`d.also shows the upper end'of the shaft formedvwith a socket 40 to receive the end of a smaller shaft 4I extending downwardly from the motor 3|; The two shafts may be keyed together by 'asuitable cross pin 42'. The'motorV shaft 4I isijournaled in af suitable .anti-frition bearing 43 carried by the top'plate 21.; .l

'- In variouspractices -of my invention,A various screens in` varying number may be placed in the passage means I6, and various impellers'in varying number may be mounted on the shaft 36.y In theiillustrated preferred arrangement, both the screens and the impellers are carried by the shaft 36.' 1 shows three impellers or blowers 45 and shows screen'assemblies 46 mounted on the opposite ends of each Yof the impellers.

Each impellei' 45 has Aa hub portion 4'I'keyed totheshaftA 36 by a suitable setscrew 48 and has anulnberf blades preferably of small helical configuration. i

fEach'screen assembly 46 `comprises a fine mesh screen 5I reinforced on one side byan upper, re1- ative'ly coarse Jscreen 52 and reinforced on the other sideby a lower, relatively coarse screen 53. If the impellers are made of relatively soft materiaLsuch as aluminum, the three layers comprising each of the screen' assemblies 46 may be anchored by suitably hardened pins driven into suitable bores 56 in theassociated impeller. In ythe initial embodiment of my invention, the metal screen 5IV is preferably 130 mesh per inch, while the two reinforcing screens 52 and 53 are cut from ordinary copper or brass window Y screen.4` The Vtwo screens4 52 yand 53 are notreexceedingly 'ne openings I of the successive the impellers impart energy to the fuel-laden air stream is at least suificientto substantially compensate for the resistance? to fluid owfimposed bythe various screen assemblies 46. In practice, itis found that the degree to which the impellers exert a boosting effect on the air stream is'not critical, variation in the design and efficiency of the impellers being possible without sacrificing the lmaterial advantages inherent in the invention. Injone test the device, substantially as shown inFig. 1, increased by yLll% the efficiency ofanautomobile engine measured in miles per gallon.

The' purpose of Fig. 5 isjto indicate how the described arrangement'may be modified to use stationary screen assemblies instead of'rotary screen assemblies. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, impellers generally designated 5'I of the same' construction as the impellers 45 are' mountedxin the same manner on a motor-.driven axial shaft 58: Fig. 5 shows a setscrew 66 extending through the-hub 'portion 6i of one Vof the impel=` layers of screen, as heretofore described, is pel ripherally engagedbetween two sleeves 63 that line ythe interior of the passage means"l0. The

screen assembly 62 in Fig.f5 is centrally apery tured to clear the rotating shaft 58, the screen assemblyv includingfa suitable flanged ring 65 to line the' aperture andghold the three layers of the screen assembly together. This second form of'v the --invention operates in substantially, the same manner A as the preferred form. -f vIn the `practice of my invention, it is contenirplatedy that lthe design of lthe impellers 'and'fof the associated motor forf'useV Awith an internal combustion engine will be such that the motor 3I will contribute energy'to the fuel-laden air stream when the air stream tendsto flow at low velocity due 'to idling of the engine or otherwise, and, on the other hand, when the engine causes the fuel-'laden air .stream to flow at 4relatively high velocity,the air stream will-drive the motor as a generator t0 contribute to Vcharging of the battery. `-'Thus, even with the enginev idling, my n device .provides 'a complete mixing of the fuel and air stream'to insure more efficient combustion. Furthermore, dueto such complete mixing, my invention permits ready starting fof `an automobile engine when-the sameis cold without f Supplementary 'enriching of the mixture in the place of the carburetor I2, andxby reversing the direction of rotation of the motor 3 I ,that

results can be obtained which are fully comparable to those attained by the use of the downdraft carburetor i2 in the manner illustrated in the drawing. It will therefore be appreciated that my invention is equally applicable to either up-draft or down-draft carburetion.

The preferred practice of my invention described in specific detail will suggest to those skilled in the art various changes and substitutions under my basic concept, and I reserve the right to all such departures from my disclosure that properly lie within the scope of my appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. Means for vaporizing fel entrained in the air stream in an intake passage leading to an internal combustion engine, comprising in combination: passage means providing said intake passage; a plurality of spaced impellers disposed transversely across said passage each impeller having ya plurality of blades; a plurality of spaced screen assemblies transversely disposed between said impellers and supported upon edges of said blades for rotation therewith; a drive shaft carrying said impellers, said drive shaft extending exteriorally of said passage; and a motor carried by said passage means and connected with the extending portion of said drive shaft for driving said impellers independently of operation of said engine.

2. Means for vaporizing fuel entrained in the air stream in an intake passage leading to an internal combustion engine, comprising in combination: passage means providing said intake passage; a, plurality of spaced bladed impellers disposed transversely across said passage; a plurality of spaced screen assemblies alternating between said impellers and disposed perpendicularly to the axis of said passage, each screen assembly comprising a fine fuel-dispersing screen and a relatively coarse screen reinforcing said fine screen; a drive shaft carrying said impellers; and a motor connected with said drive shaft for driving said impellers.

3. A combination according to claim 2 Wherein relatively coarse reinforcing screens engagev Lil air stream in the intake passage leading to an internal combustion engine, comprising in combination: passage means; a closure for one end of said passage means; a .motor carried by said closure; a drive shaft cormected with said motor and extending through said closure and axially into said passage means; a plurality of spaced screen assemblies disposed about said drive shaft; a plurality of impellers on said shaft and disposed in alternatingrelation between said screen assemblies; a lateral connection to said passage means adjacent its end carrying said motor; and means providing for air passage at the opposite end of said passage means, said motor being adapted to be driven at a' relatively high rate of Speed independently of the speed of said internal combustion engine. y

6. A combination according to claim 5 Wherein mountings for said impeller shaft are provided whereby relatively higher engine speed will cause said motor to serve as a generator by reason of consequent relatively higher air trave1 through said passage means. Y

7. A combination according to claim 5 Wherein certain of said screen assemblies include screen the mesh of which is in the order of mesh per inch.

8. A combination according to claim 5 wherein a screen assembly is secured to each side of each impeller.

9. A combination according to claim 2 wherein a screen assembly is carried by each impeller andeach screen assembly comprises a fine fueldispersing screen and a coarse reinforcing screen secured in contact therewith.

10. Means for vaporizing fuel entrained in the air stream in an intake passage leading to an internal combustion engine, comprising in combination: passage means providing said intake passage; a plurality of spaced impellers disposed transversely across said passage, each impeller having a plurality of blades; a plurality of spaced screens carried upon and supported by said impeller blades in positions substantially perpendic- :lular to the axis of said passage; and a drive shaft connected with said impellers and extending exteriorly of said passage, said shaft having rmeans for driving connection with motor means to operate said impellers and screens.

THOMAS L. TRIPLETT. 

